


In The Blink of an Eye

by wekingsandprettythings



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Coming Out, Coming of Age, M/M, Puberty, Raising a family, Slight Smut, family troubles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 07:34:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14075985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wekingsandprettythings/pseuds/wekingsandprettythings
Summary: Becoming a dad was something Dan and Phil always dreamed of. So when life settled down for them it was really a no brainer that they should have a baby. Before they knew it they had 4 kids, a million responsibilities, they were juggling their own lives as well as helping the kids with starting theirs. Raising a family was a struggle, but somehow they made it look easy.





	1. 12 Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i made all of them as sims so you could see what i imagine them to look like: https://twitter.com/deathielhowell/status/977770485474906112

He often woke up before his alarm went off, whether it be from a child crying or just because the universe hated him and wanted him up. Today was one of those days. He woke up 45 minutes before his 7am alarm was set to go off, he rolled over and stared at his sleeping husband. 

He aged well. For being 45, Phil managed to still be the most handsome man in the whole world. His hair was still thick, he’d gone back to the mousey brown color, however there was a lot more grey then brown. The forehead wrinkles he used to only get when he was pissed off had become more permanent. He had laughter lines, which made Dan smile because he knew he caused most of those laughs in the last 23 years. It had been a wonderful 23 years. 

12 of those years consisted of them being married, for 8 of them they had been parents. When he looked back at how their lives had changed sometimes it hit him really hard that he was a father and a husband. He wasn’t just some guy on the internet anymore. He had a new life and a family. But he was still on the internet most of the time. 

Twitter died off a while back, it was still there only not many people used it anymore. He still tweeted about his life every once and a while, making it relatable to the fans who now had children as well. 

@danielhowell: why is it that i wake up so god damn early on days my kids decide to sleep in? This is not fair, should i wake phil up to make him suffer as well? Is that something people with kids do?

He had a few responses, all saying yes, it’s only fair and it meant they could have alone time. He wasn't going to say no to that. It didn’t happen very often anymore. He put his phone back on the side table and rolled over to look at Phil again. He ran his hand up and down Phil’s arm gently, watching him go from peaceful sleep to him jumping up.

“Who’s crying?” he almost yelled.

“Shhh!! no one, they’re all asleep and i’m up early.” Dan said, trying to calm him down and keep him quiet so the children stayed asleep.

“Why would you do that? We had a chance to sleep in!”

“Well maybe i wanted some cuddles with daddy this morning.” he said softly, looking at Phil with big brown doe eyes. 

“Come here.” 

Phil layed back down, he left his arm out for Dan to cuddle into his side, but he didn’t. Instead Dan lent down and kissed him. He placed a hand on Phil’s chest for support as he did so. Kissing was something they used to take advantage of. They used to be able to just randomly kiss or spend the whole day making out if they wanted to. Now they were lucky if they got one when they woke up and one before bed. 

4 kids was a lot. But 4 kids in 6 years was fucking crazy and he wouldn’t recommend going that fast, although he’d never trade his kids for anything in the world. Sometimes he’d just like some alone time with his husband and love of his life. 

Phil pulled him in tighter, kissing him deeper before pulling back and whispering, “go lock the door we still have half an hour till Penelope has to be up for school.” 

Dan got off the bed and tiptoed to the door, locking it slowly and quietly. One time he locked it quick causing the click to be loud and a baby started crying. He wasn’t going to let that happen again. 

Getting back to bed, he turned the baby monitors around, not wanting to glance at it while riding his husband and making it weird. Phil grabbed the lube and a condom, easy clean up was key seeing as children didn’t always have great timing with their needs. Too many times he’s had to get up mid sex, shove some clothes on and go soothe a child. 

In no time he was striped, prepped, and was making love to his husband. In 8 years of sneaky love making they had learned how to make it quick but also last at the same time. 

The sun was starting to rise, they knew their time was almost up, but they were so wrapped up in pleasure they didn’t care. Dan reached over to his phone mid fuck to cancel the alarm so it didn’t wake anyone up, Penelope could sleep in today. Phil picked up the pace, tried their best to stay quiet, and they finished a short while after 7. 

They stayed in bed cuddled up for a little while they calmed down from their highs. Dan kissed Phil once more before heading to the bathroom to get ready. He cleaned himself up, brushed his teeth, threw on jeans and a white shirt and walked out to Penelope’s room. 

“Knock knock.” he said while opening the door. Penelope was sitting up in her bed with a light on reading a book for school. “Oh, you’re up already?”

“I heard you and papa saying bad words at each other and i thought something was wrong cause papa never normally swears. Are you guys okay?” Penelope said in her sweet little accent. She was too innocent for her own good. 

Dans whole face turned red, he panicked and lied. “We were, uh, playing a hard level of a video game, don’t worry he wasn’t mad at me. We love each other /very/ much.” 

“Good! I wouldn’t want you to get divorced like Lizzie's parents.” She said before reaching out for a hug. 

He hugged her tight, knowing one day she’s going to actually know what they heck just happened and probably think it’s gross and want to die of embarrassment. 

“Lets go get some breakfast and then we’ll get your clothes on for school okay love?” 

-

Dan made breakfast before getting the other kids up. He poured 3 bowls of cheerios and 3 crunchy nut, the kettle was on for Phil’s coffee, the dog was out peeing, he had the morning routine down. 

Oliver was a bit harder to wake up, he was too much like Dan for his own good. He always went to bed with a struggle, claiming he wasn’t tired and never waking up cause he was still sleepy. He finally got up when Phil went in with a stern voice, telling him he’d have no breakfast if he didn’t come down now. 

Phil grabbed the twins and changed them before bringing them to the table as well. The 6 of them sat together eating their cereal and talking about what they were excited for that day. Penelope kept talking about her new friend Lizzie who was added to her class last week. They had too many kids in the grade above her and made her class a split class. She wasn’t mad about it at all.

Breakfast always ended with Penelope calling the dog, Winston, back inside, placing a scoop of food in his bowl and going to get her clothes on. She loved having responsibilities, it helped her get going. If she had nothing to do she went a little stir crazy. 

Grandma showed up every morning at 8 to pick the kids up. When they told Kath she was going to be a grandma she was so thrilled she made Nigel move with her back to Manchester and into the same neighborhood as them. She always took Penelope to school, Oliver stayed with her for half the day till he had school and then she kept the twins as well. She loved having most of her grandbabies in the same area as her. 

It was nice to have her around for the kids. They didn’t have a mother figure, so she helped with the maternal love they craved. It was even better to have her around seeing as they had 3 girls. Penelope was reaching the age that they had to start introducing sex ed in school, she’d probably get her period in the next 4 years and they were absolutely terrified for that and the mood swings. Thank god Ella and Paisley were only 2, they had a long time to get adjusted before they were all hormonal wrecks. All three girls were also Phil’s, his family were known to be late bloomers, that was a plus for sure. 

Once the kids were sent off to school, they had to work. Phil was in the middle of writing and re-writing his second book, so he was always in meetings or he was on the phone. Sometimes he’d have a day off but he’d still spend it beside Dan on the couch, with his laptop open furiously writing away. 

Dan on the other hand went back to University after they stopped touring. He wanted something to do other than youtube for a while. He went on to study Psychology at Manchester University, it was a short drive from the new house so really it was a no brainer. 

He graduated right before they had Penelope, it gave him enough time to stay at home with her before wanting to get a job. When he did get a job though, he was still able to stay at home with her. He started working more intensely with Young Minds, becoming a counsellor with them and doing Skype sessions with patients who couldn’t get out and find a counsellor in person. 

He did 4, one hour long sessions a day, Monday through Thursday, and it honestly helped him almost as much as it helped his clients. Talking with people about their experiences and truly listening to their pain while also giving them help and focusing on their strengths was a wonderful experience that he was so grateful to have. It gave him the same feeling as touring the world once did. 

Oh, how their lives had changed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don’t know what their sexualities are, this is fiction and anything said was created by me with some facts they have shared with the internet.

Phil picked the children up from his mother's house that night, he left a bit early so that they could chat before coming home for dinner. He loved having his mother back in the same town as him. All those years in London and traveling the world made it hard for them to keep the same friendship they had when he was a boy, but it was back and stronger than ever.

They sat in the kitchen, Kath had her tea and Phil had a coffee. In the background Phil could hear the children playing with their grandfather, Penelope was taking control of the situation, Oliver was listening along to how the game would play out and the twins sat on their own playing with blocks. It was a simple life. 

Kath smiled, she was facing the living room, watching her husband play with the children. “Penelope is quite the leader, isn’t she?”

“She gets it from Dan.” he jokes, knowing his mother would get the joke, seeing as she always thought he was a bit of a control freak, however she’d never say it to his face.

“Does she always talk about a girl named Lizzie with you at home?”

“Oh yes. They're best friends. I think she’s a year older however.” Phil says before taking a sip of coffee, “why? Did she say something? Is everything alright?” 

“Oh yes dear dont worry its just,” she paused and pursed her lips together. “She reminds me a lot of you when you were a child. She’s only friends with the boys, like you were with the girls and her friendship with Lizzie reminds me of that boy Joseph that you liked in year four.”

“Oh.” Phil remembers that time in his life really well. 

The girls were nice to him, the boys not so much, they thought he was weird. They called him names and never wanted to hang out with him. The girls were nice to talk to and they were always talking about cute boys, so he did too. Telling them he though Joseph was cute, which led to them all telling Joseph and suddenly the boys had a new word to use when making fun of Phil. 

“We’ve taught her that liking the same gender is fine, Dan’s very open with her about sexualities, and kids nowadays aren’t as mean as they were in the nineties. I think she’ll be okay.” Phil said, assuring himself more than his mother. 

“I’m sure she will be fine as well dear, i just don’t want to see her in the same state as you were in back then.” she said with a small smile. 

Phil remembers being 9, crying in his room, not understanding why the kids called him a fag. He didn’t see anything wrong with thinking a boy was handsome. He told his mom everything, seeing as she was his best friend. She explained what being gay was, and why people thought it was wrong. She told him he could go with her to the library to find a book on sexuality, she wanted him to know who he was, she wanted him to feel safe and educated. She was truly the best mother in the world, and now his kids got to have her as a grandmother. 

On the drive home, he let Penelope sit in the front with him. It was a rare occurrence that he did that, seeing as she was just a pound over the weight restriction to sit at the front, and he was a worrier. 

“So, how’s Lizzie?” he asked.

“She’s wonderful. Today she snuck some teddy crackers out to the playground and we eat them by the flower garden. It was really nice.” Penelope said with a large smile. One that made her eyes brighter than ever. Phil knew that kind of smile, he’d seen it in her father when he was passionate about something. 

“She seems very special to you.” Phil said, not wanting to be too obvious that he knew she had a crush.

“I think i want her to be my girlfriend. But don’t tell dad that, i want to tell him myself”

-

Back at home, after dinner Phil and Penelope went to her room to talk. It was possibly the hardest dinner for Phil, keeping a secret from Dan was something he’d only ever done once, when he was going to propose. And even then Dan knew everything. 

“What are you and dad?” was the first question she asked. 

“What do you mean?”

“We learned in school that there are a lot of different” she tried to think of the world and get it right, “sexutilities.” 

He giggled at the effort, “sex-you-al-it-ee’s” he said, pronouncing it so she’d be able to say it herself.

“Yes, sexualities.” she said with a smile. 

“Well, ever since i was your age i knew i liked boys, it wasn’t until i met your dad that i had an idea of what my label could be. I liked girls as well, just when i met Dan i knew he was the love of my life, so you could say i’m bisexual but i really just love your Dan and no one else will ever compete.”

“That’s cute. Lizzies mom left her dad for another guy and now she lives in Ireland and Lizzie's dad is all alone.” Penelope said, and of course it revolved around Lizzie. 

“Yeah, that happens sometimes. People fall in and out of love and get their heart broken. Mine was broken when i was a teenager. You know Uncle Ian? He started dating the girl i liked, but she dumped him too and thats how we became friends.” 

Penelope nodded her head and changed the subject. “Is dad gay? Or is he bisexual as well?” 

“He’s demisexual.” 

“What’s that?”

“It means that he needs to have a strong emotional connection with someone to want to be with them.” he knew there was more to it, and he knew she was learning about sex in school. “In a sexual way.” he felt awkward saying that.

“Oh okay. So dad loves you a lot and because of that you’re the only one he’d ever want to have sex with?” 

“Yep.”

“Does that mean you’re the only person he’s had sex with?” she asked, he knew it came from a place on innocence and wanting to understand. But he still hated that he felt awkward. 

“No, he had a girlfriend before we met. But he didn’t love her the way he loves me. There’s a lot of different types of love.”

“Like how i love you and dad and Oliver and Ella and Paisley is different from how i love Lizzie.” 

“Exactly.” he knew child love was different from real love, but the last thing he would ever do is diminish her feelings. She had a valid point, there was a difference, even if she didn’t understand what real true love was at this age. 

“I think i’m going to tell dad.” she said, getting up off the bed and walking from the room. 

Phil followed quietly behind her, she walked into the kitchen where Dan was cleaning up from dinner, the twins were still in their high chairs and Oliver was playing Mario Kart on the tv just across from them. The open concept helped them keep an eye on all the children. 

“Dad, can i tell you something?” She asked, walking right up to him.

Dan put the dish cloth down on the counter and knelt down to her level, “yes love?” he said, grabbing her little hands. 

“I’m bisexual.” she announced with pride. 

Phil couldn’t help but smile in the background as Dan wrapped her in his arms. 

“The best people in the world are bisexual. It means you have a lot of love in your heart, and i’m glad you wanted to share that with me.” Dan said, he looked like he wanted to cry.

-

They laid in bed that night, Dan on his phone, and Phil reading a book. Dan was cuddled in under one of Phil arms. “I fucking love our family.” Dan announced out of the blue.

Phil laughed, “same.” 

“Seriously, we have the best family. I love that our kids are so open with us and we don't hide anything from them. I wish my family had of been like this when i was growing up.” 

“My family was.” Phil said, laying his book down on his chest, “And you’re like this now as a parent cause you want your kids to have what you didn’t have. And then when they have kids they will be wonderful parents because of you.” 

“I thought i had the degree in psychology?” Dan joked, cuddling into Phil more.

Phil kissed him on the top of the head, he reached over to put his book away and turn the light off. Dan rolled over and Phil spooned into Dan’s back. He rested his head in the crook of Dan’s neck, laying a kiss to Dan’s shoulder. 

“I love you.” Phil said, both a reflex and just him wanted to remind Dan.

“I love you more.” Dan replied.


End file.
